While this might not be my usual kind of post, I wanted to include it on my blog nonetheless. Not only because I really love the idea behind it but also because this is how we imagine our future home. As our five-year dating anniversary drew nearer, I started wondering. Five years is quite a long time. So it seemed like an anniversary we should mark somehow. Most of the time, we don’t really do anything big. This goes for both our dating and wedding anniversary since they’re only a month apart. This year though, we decided to rent out a little Airbnb right here in Belgium. The Abaralodge is a unique ecolodge lodging created by Waldcube.
But it wasn’t just any random Airbnb. This is a passive house that we noticed years ago and that we hope could be our home one day. This particular one is called Abarolodge and you can find it in Cras-Avernas, near Hannut in Belgium. To start from the beginning, we discovered Waldcube a few years ago. We were delighted to see that someone was making environmentally friendly passive houses here in Belgium. In the meantime, they changed their name to EcoLodge and expanded their service. Depending on your needs, they make smaller and bigger houses.
In short, you have a wooden skeleton that is lined with compressed straw. That straw serves as isolation since it covers every inch of the house. And to be honest, we visited during chilly weather and never felt cold inside. In fact, without active heating, it was still warmer than our 35m² room back at home the previous night! Technically, all the houses available are energy-efficient, which is fascinating. One step closer to environmentally friendly housing!
The models start at 25m², which is the size of an atelier or a workshop. From then on, you can combine different models and basically add up the units, like real-life building blocks! The Airbnb we spent the night in measures 44m². While that’s a perfect size for an Airbnb, it might be too small for daily life. For the most part, we daydream about the 70m² EcoLodge. I say daydream because right now, as things stand, you can’t buy these houses as your permanent home. According to Belgian law, they can only be rental or vacation homes. Basically, just for temporary usage. Hopefully, things will change one day because we absolutely love the EcoLodge!
It was love at first sight when I saw the front entrance. A wall that is basically a series of windows is something I’ve daydreamed about my whole life. I love the amount of light it brings into the house. And the fact that trees surrounded us made for such a cozy setting. Also, the wooden interior makes the place feel warm and inviting. Overall, it’s an incredibly cozy space and I wouldn’t have minded if our stay was a bit longer. And I can definitely see it as a proper home and not just an occasional holiday rental. We wanted to spend a night in the EcoLodge in order to picture it as our future home. And our little experiment was quite successful. It only confirmed our future home wishes!
